29 May, 2017
The Supreme Court today granted time till July 31 to liquor manufacturers and sellers in Bihar to dispose of their existing stock outside the state.
Earlier, the court had extended till May 31 the deadline of April 30 for disposing of old stocks, including raw material, fixed by the Nitish Kumar government which had imposed a ban on liquor in the state from April one previous year.
Earlier, the court had extended till May 31 the deadline of April 30, which was fixed after the Nitish Kumar government imposed a ban on liquor in the state from April 5 previous year.
A vacation bench of the apex court headed by Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and also comprising Justice Deepak Gupta extended the time limit from May 31 to July 31 to dispose of old stocks, including raw material, lying in their warehouses. The bench, however, was not convinced with his plea and raised question on how could there be illegal trade of liquor when the existing stocks were in the custody of the state government.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverages Companies, contended that it was not possible even to destroy the existing stocks by the end of this month and the liquor companies might face prosecution by the state government for holding the stocks.
But, the court made it clear that there shall be no further extension under any condition.
Mohan told the apex court that there was an illegal trade going on in the state and no extension should be givenSeveral liquor manufacturers approached the apex court seeking an extension of the May 31 deadline for moving liquor stocks out of the state.
When the Bihar government objected to the move saying liquor was now classified as "illegal trade", the Bench reasoned that the companies were only seeking time to sell the liquor outside the State.
